Got an hour or two to get beautiful in the morning before you head to work? Of course you don’t! But with some savvy planning and smart product choices, you can leave home looking polished and near perfect -- even when you’re slipping your shoes on as you head out the door.More >>

Got an hour or two to get beautiful in the morning before you head to work? Of course you don’t! But with some savvy planning and smart product choices, you can leave home looking polished and near perfect -- even when you’re slipping your shoes on as you head out the door. More >>

Winter not only takes a toll on our nails -- leaving them dry, broken, brittle and chipped -- but also makes us feel we have to play it safe when it comes to fashion nail trends.

But just because you’re not wearing bright pinks or corals in January through March doesn’t mean your nails need to be dull. Here are simple tips on taking care of your nails and dressing them up in a new wardrobe of styles.

Give yourself an at-home nail treatment:

1. Remove any existing nail polish and buff nails.

2. If you have dry nails/cuticles, apply a drop of jojoba or olive oil to nail bed and buff. Buffing drives the natural oils into the nail.

3. Wash hands to remove residue and buffing dust.

4. Dry hands and nails thoroughly.

5. Before you move on to polish, consider filing your nails to a more tapered, almond-like shape.

Experiment with winter’s hottest nail polish techniques and color:

1. Layer metallic shades: gold over silver, or bronze over gold.

2. Add a layer of sparkly or glittery nail polish to any color you already have. Try gold glitter over red, fuchsia, dark green or blue. Silver shimmer looks great over pale pinks and nudes.

3. Try a moon/baroque manicure, which is basically a reversed French manicure. Paint your nails black, leaving an ivory half-moon bottom, or burgundy with a gold half-moon.

4. Shade each nail slightly lighter than the previous one for an ombre look. Carefully pour about a quarter-size amount of your favorite nail shade into a tiny cup. Add a few drops of creamy white. Paint your pinkies, and then mix additional drops for each finger so that each gets gradually lighter, with the thumbnail being the palest of all.

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